The end of the semester is a tough time for Winona State University students. There are numerous assignments to do and finals are speedily approaching. It’s stressful and hard for students to stay afloat in the sea of stress. It’s a common time for students to feel like the semester will never end. It’s easy to fall into the spiral of negativity, and feel like a project isn’t going exactly as originally planned. However, there is a light at the end of this tunnel. No matter how stressful the end of the semester may be, it’s important to remember that people are available to help and there are resources on campus.
Dr. Krishna Roka is a Sociology professor at Winona State. Dr. Roka shared some insight as a professor and an expert in Sociology. A big part of dealing with a course load is time management. Effectively laying out what needs to be done when can help students mentally prepare and visually see when assignments are due, and when they can work on them. Though it is often very easy for people to stop working on the things they’re working on after they’ve started them. This is a natural part of human nature, “we all get excited and then when things don’t go as expected we lose interest,” Roka said.
A lot of outside factors can also affect student motivation. Everybody is dealing with their own things outside of the learning environment that influence stress levels.
Some ways to deal with this stress can be trying to limit distractions. While outside problems don’t just go away, a person can minimize the current impact that they have. It might be difficult to ignore them and they might not be able to ignore all of them, but if they can minimize four out of five distractions it allows them to only have to focus on one.
“Making friends and social interaction might sometimes cancel out the stress and anxiety they may have.” Dr. Roka said talking about handling stress, and balancing school was socialization. Socialization is an important part of human nature, as humans are social creatures. Sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to about the stress. Professors are a good resource to go to.
“We are one of the community members you can approach,” Dr. Roka said.
Professors are ultimately there to assist students in learning and whatever assignments and projects they’re doing. Utilizing professor’s office hours, and their time in class is an effective way in taking away stress from any uncertainty. Professors are also people and oftentimes understand if students need extensions on something. Other resources include Peer to Peer services.
Nyapal Minyoang is a second-year Peer to Peer counselor at Winona State. Peer to Peer counseling is a good space to talk about the things stressing you out. Not just at the end of the semester, but throughout the semester. Peer to Peer allows for students to “be able to talk to another student that is walking in their shoes,” Minyoang shared.
One of the biggest things that Minyoang said students struggle with is the pressure to finish the semester strongly. This sentiment coupled with the heavy workload is a recipe for caffeine fueled all-nighters. There are several sources students can access to prevent depriving themselves of sleep. Students can utilize tutoring services for help not just with the content, but also developing effective study skills. The writing center is helpful for those who have different essays due at the end of the week. They help students improve their writing, citations, etc. Counseling services is helpful for when students need someone to talk to.
Oftentimes the pressure of perfect performance gets to a lot of students wanting to do well, what is important to remember is that there are people who are there for them, and resources available. Utilize the resources available, and use them as much as needed. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about how the end of a semester is going, whether that’s a friend, a Peer to Peer counselor, a professor, etc. It’s easy to get caught up in the stress and feel like the assignments never stop coming. But if a person can take it all a step at a time, eventually they will accomplish what they want to.
